Hornets Assign Darius Miller to D-League

The New Orleans Hornets have assigned forward Darius Miller to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Hornets Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Dell Demps.

Miller has appeared in 23 games this season for the Hornets, averaging 2.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

Players sent the D-League are still under their NBA contract, so no team can poach Mr. Miller from the Hornets. Miller still receives his NBA salary, as well.

This move comes 2 days after Eric Gordon’s 2012-2013 debut with the team. This gave the Hornets 14 healthy players. Since only 13 can be on the active list, the Hornets had to place a healthy player on the list for the first time this season. They chose Miller.

Rather than keep Miller around as a practice body, the move to the D-League is likely an attempt to get the second round pick some minutes. The Energy will determine the minutes Miller receives, if any.

Players with 0, 1, or 2 years can be assigned to the D-League at the whims of their NBA team for as long as the team wants. Typical D-League assignments range from a few days to a few weeks.

Miller has 48 hours to report, and is expected to do so. I’m not sure what the consequences for not reporting are, but it could end up with lost salary and suspension or a voided contract. We may find out if Royce White continues to refuse to report.

Also, one could infer from this move that neither Eric Gordon nor Jason Smith has suffered no ill-effects of which the team is aware, otherwise they would be on the inactive list and Miller would be around if needed, as has been the case all season. It may not be true, of course, but it’s a possible sign of good things.

Update:

From Monty Williams:

“We didn’t like him just sitting. I think it’s beneficial for him to go out and play, and get some reps in games. He’s a young player. He’s got some skill for sure. He just wasn’t in the rotation. In the Minnesota game, I just felt like he wasn’t ready to play on a night in and night out basis. Just watching him in that game. That doesn’t mean we don’t watch him making sure his craft is getting better every day. That’s why we sent him to the D-League, so he can play and be in game-time situations.”

Didn't get to watch the Energy game but D-Mill with 17 pts. on 12 shots (3-5 from deep) and 1.4 points per shot. Hope that starts a good trend and he gets his confidence and skill up so we can see him playing in a Hornets Uni again. Go D-Mill!

There's obviously a reason Monty hasn't wanted to play Miller so far this season, and it must have something to do with practice - something very few of us witness.
This will be a good chance for him to hopefully get some confidence and more importantly in-game experience. I like the move.

If you're gonna send players to the D-League, send Aminu. He has a ton of athletic ability, but clearly needs to learn more of the technical aspects of the game and to build his confidence. Miller is a more technically sound player than Aminu; he never got by on his athleticism, he's in the NBA because he's a canny player who knows his role. That being said, maybe sending Darius down is the start of the Hornets moving to a Spurs-style utilization of the D-League (sending guys down whenever they're not getting an opportunity to get run with the first team - Spurs have done that a ton this year). If so, it could be beneficial to the organization in the long run.

D-Mill is my favorite small forward on the Hornets (unless you count Gravy). I'm glad he'll at least be able to get minutes with the Iowa Energy and come back and be able to provide some of that energy here.

Monty's system is not set up for a small forward to excel. We hide them in the corner and wait on a pass that never comes from Roberts, Vasquez and rivers. Darius can help this organization give him the time and freedom that you have given the others. Jordan you are correct he is the hornets best option.

Why aren't we playing this kid more? Are there any better options? Seriously, with our collection of small fowards he couldn't find time for a rookie? He finds time for Austin. I really like Monty, but I've never understood why Darius was always in the doghouse. When he was out there it didn't appear like he was hurting us anymore than Aminu or McGuire.